Ctr for Responsive Politics C R P
oops see disambigs<div>
</div><div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"></font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">TOOL:</font></div><div><p dir="ltr" id="yiv9003889350docs-internal-guid-7b528c55-634b-af6b-024a-352856d7e6d5" style="margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 24px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"> OpenSecrets,
Underlying the drama surrounding the impeachment hearings and calls between Presidents Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, there is newfound attention to issues involving the decades-old Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and the information it discloses.
Consider these developments the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) uncovered in recent months involving Ukrainian actors:</font></p><ul style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Networks of shell companies, limited liability companies and other secretive entities reported millions of dollars in U.S. lobbying and influence spending on interests tied to Ukrainian politician Yulia Tymoshenko.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">On the eve of the Ukraine 2019 presidential election, a delegation of Zelensky campaign representatives orchestrated a secretive influence campaign during which they reportedly paid Trump International Hotel’s BLT restaurant $1,912 to dine with “around a dozen unknown others.” </font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">A little known U.S.-based attorney quietly poured six figures into foreign influence operations for President Zelensky, hoping to be rewarded with a job in his administration.</font></li></ul><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 24px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The breadth and scale of conflicts of interest make it more vital than ever to expose the connections between money, governance and policy. Moreover, the escalation in FARA-related activity –– and enforcement –– is unprecedented. In the past fifty years there were only seven FARA prosecutions. In 2018 alone, more than 20 individuals were charged with criminal prosecutions. Investigations and reports that draw on CRP's Foreign Lobby Watch data—by OpenSecrets, the press and civil society—are revealing the relationships and activities of people wielding inordinate influence over policy, and bringing transparency to these networks.
<a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="https://opensecrets.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=aa7cf182bf7041258bb250f9d&id=38e22ce071&e=44dfb36771"><strong><u>Foreign Lobby Watch (FLW)</u></strong></a> <strong>is <u>the</u> essential resource for exploring these patterns.</strong> FLW digitizes and curates the FARA data into an accurate and easily accessible format. And CRP is adding features to make it the most comprehensive tool available. By integrating the data with CRP's domestic lobbying archive FLW provides deeper access into who is in these networks of influence, donations to lawmakers made by lobbyists, details about their political ad spending and the lobbying activities of foreign companies.</font></p></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">220</font></div><div><strong style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Center for Responsive Politics: </strong><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">An analysis of federal campaign finance filings shows that Super PACs brought in more than $65 million from groups bankrolled by secret donors in 2019. Super PACs aligned with congressional Republican and Democratic Party leadership have already received millions of dollars from so-called “dark money” groups during the 2020 election cycle. </span><a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="https://americanpromise.us19.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7df407720bf61a8c8416bb9e7&id=ae59325c8e&e=be363fc9ec" style="color: rgb(53, 106, 180); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Read more</a><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">.</span></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">==</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div>
</div><div><span style="font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">From the White House to the halls of Congress to less glamorous federal government agencies, lobbyists are tasked with delivering their clients’ messages throughout Washington, D.C.
OpenSecrets’ recently-revamped </span><a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="https://opensecrets.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=aa7cf182bf7041258bb250f9d&id=204a3f6a27&e=44dfb36771" style="color: rgb(96, 96, 96); overflow-wrap: break-word; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 205);">lobbying database</span></a><span style="font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> includes the ability to see which lobbyists are attempting to influence each government agency.</span><br style="color: rgb(96, 96, 96); font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><br style="color: rgb(96, 96, 96); font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="https://opensecrets.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=aa7cf182bf7041258bb250f9d&id=6932d87b2f&e=44dfb36771" style="color: rgb(96, 96, 96); overflow-wrap: break-word; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><u><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-family: lato, " helvetica="helvetica" neue="neue" arial="arial" sans-serif="sans-serif"><strong>Read more</strong></span></span></u></a></div></div>